The present invention relates generally to a tool storage system for use in golf courses, and more specifically, to rake storage systems for use in close proximity to a golf course sand trap.
To the chagrin of golfers everywhere, many an errant golf shot has ended with the golf ball rolling into a sand trap. The player having hit the ball then follows into the sand trap to strike at the ball with his next swing. Typically the action of the player walking on the sand in addition to the divot he takes when he swings at the ball leaves the sand within the sand trap disturbed, and if left unattended, affecting the roll of the next ball hit into the sand trap. Out of courtesy to other players, after a player has cleared his ball from the sand trap, he is expected to leave the sand trap in the same undisturbed condition as when he found it. To help him smooth over the sand trap, many golf courses leave rakes either in the sand trap or along side it. The disadvantage of leaving the rake in the sand trap or along side it is the potential that a golf ball will strike the rake, thereby affecting the trajectory of the ball and distorting the shot.
Various devices have been conceived in order to provide the player with ready access to the rake while still locating the rake beyond a golf ball's path. One device conceals the rake in a container in the golf course thereby preventing the ball from striking the rake while the rake is not in use. This device by Edward C. Erichson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,584,739, utilizes a container buried in the ground adjacent to a sand trap for storage of the sand trap rake. The container has a hinged cover having an artificial turf surface mounted flush with the ground. When the rake is not in use, the container is covered, and the rake is entirely hidden from sight. The cover itself forms a playing surface across which the ball can roll.
Another device by Cash, U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,550 discloses a rake storage system somewhat similar to Erichson in that the rake is concealed in a container buried in a golf course, the difference being that Erichson covers the the rake and the container, while Cash does not.
Other inventions have been devised which make the rake a collapsible rake and therefore easily carried by the golfer as he walks the golf course. Examples of this type of sand trap rake include W. J. Walsh, U.S. Pat. No. 2,110,538 and E. F. Walker, U.S. Pat. No. 2,821,834. Still another collapsible rake is by D. L. Burrows, U.S. Pat. No. 3,390,516 and a detachable rake head which attaches to a golf club head by W. N. Fallon, U.S. Pat. No. 3,210,111.
By using a collapsible rake, the rake is carried with the player, thereby leaving no rake near the sand trap. The disadvantage of this is that when a player comes by without a rake he has no means by which to smooth over the sand trap. A rake inserted within a container and covered by an artificial turf lid near a sand trap distorts the feature of the golf course by having an artificial turf section. In addition the rake cannot be seen thereby potentially requiring some sort of sign or other marking.
The present invention disposes only the rake handle into the ground and allows only the rake head to be visible and on display. The golfer can readily spot the location of the rake, retrieve it to smooth over the sand trap after his shot, and when finished slide the rake handle into a storage tube buried in the ground leaving the rake head fully exposed. Furthermore, the location of the storage tube beneath a sand trap fringe also minimizes the chance of a ball hitting the rake head itself.
A rake laying around the sand trap not only provides an obstacle for the ball itself, but may be dangerous to the inattentive player stepping on it. The present invention eliminates this problem while still keeping the rake on display and accessible to all golfers on the golf course. The rake storage system design is also not prone to breakage or malfunction, and does not present an added cost of an extra tool that each individual golfer must bear.
Finally, the rake storage system is adaptable to any type of golf course tool around any hazard. For example, if a player encounters a water hazard, he either has to retrieve his ball by himself with his hands, or carry with him a long handled ball scoop in his golf bag. With the present storage system, the tube can be inserted in the ground near the water hazard, with the golf ball scoop insertable into the tube. The scoop is displayed so that the player can look to it, retrieve his ball, and then reinsert the tool within the storage tube. With such tools, the advantage of the present tool storage system is that only the head of the tool is displayed to attract a player's attention, and by careful location of the storage tube, the tool presents a minimal obstruction to golf ball trajectories.